OffBalance
by jooce
Summary: After angering a ghost, Teddy Lupin is sent back in time to meet people he never had the chance to see.


I was a bit miffed at the HP7 movie epilogue (for those of you who have scene it, I suspect you'll know why), so I ended up concocting this story.

Disclaimer: Characters and all amazing things belong to J. K. Rowling.

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><p>"May I take your coat, Master Lupin?"<p>

"Hullo, Kreacher," the 17-year old greeted, handing his leather jacket to the house elf who, after a decade, was finally able to say the name of a werewolf and half-blood's son without severe twitching.

"Teddy!" came a screech from beyond the hallway as Lily bounded toward him, past the old portrait covered by new drapes so heavy they folded unevenly on the floor, and tackled his abdominal region. "You came just in time, Dad's almost finished destroying the shepherd's pie so Kreacher can finally make it."

He laughed and wrapped his fingers around her. "You've grown so big since the yesterday I saw you."

She let go and pouted. "But Mum says I still can't go to Hogwarts yet. You'll be gone by the time I go!"

"Lily Potter! Come help in the kitchen before you suffocate Teddy to death!" Ginny shouted.

Lily frowned, but nonetheless started edging down the hallway, less eager to perform household chores her mother insisted on despite a perfectly hard-working house elf inhabiting the residence. "Is Auntie Tonks not coming?"

"The casserole sort of…exploded, and she said she wouldn't come until she got all the spinach off the ceiling."

"What did you mess up this time?" she asked, squinting.

"Why does everybody always assume it's me who knocked over something or other?" Teddy replied, a frown competing with an affectionate grin. "Now go on, scat before Auntie Potter calls you again." She merely smiled before scurrying through the door at the other end of the hall. Through the opening he could whiff the scent of burning crust.

The young wizard stretched his arms up high, and with a satisfying crack, returned them to his side and wandered into the sitting room. It was thankfully cozy (Ron would always tell him horror stories of cleaning up the room in years past), and he settled into a plush armchair, sinking into the cushion.

Teddy always looked forward to dinner with the Potters. Harry had enthralled him since childhood with stories about his mishappenings in Hogwarts, his friends, when he first met Ginny. And then Ginny would tease her husband about how nit-brained he acted whenever he saw her with another guy. He remembered holding little James Potter for the first time, squirming in his small arms. And when he chased young James and Lily, who were on toy broomsticks, around the house, only to knock over two vases and a grandfather clock.

But every once in a while, when he looked at the Potter family's smiling faces, he could only think about his parents Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, who gave their lives defending those smiles and giving him daily meals with the Potters. He was always thankful, but sometimes he wished that they had avoided the battle, had hid somewhere safe, had been alive to watch their son grow up.

Teddy quickly shook these thoughts out of his head as quickly as they had come. There was no sense in following that train, and he returned to the smell of Kreacher's delicious shepherd's pie that replaced Harry's.

"TEDDY, DINNER'S READY!"

The guest jumped at the sound of James' loud call, accidentally bumping his elbow into a nearby table, which teetered off-balance and onto the floor. Teddy cursed inwardly; he was so close to beating his previous record of not breaking anything in the household for sixteen days. He dove downward to pick up the table, but instead knocked the legs forward, which caused it to hammer the cabinet in front of him, which shook back and forth, letting a small ornate box at the top slowly slide forward before slipping into the air, flipping twice, and landing on the hard wood floor with bang, spilling its beaded necklace onto the floor. The string snapped, and the tiny green stones and several incandescent pearls shot in all directions.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," his godfather called out, followed by some snickers from the rest of his family.

Teddy couldn't help but laugh silently at his clumsiness as well, and scooted sideways to pick up the fallen beads. When he plucked up the first pearl, he felt a chill run down his back.

"_IGNORANT, CLUMSY, STUPID PRAT!"_

He jumped up again, this time letting go of the now-shining pearl, which along with the rest of the small orbs floated upwards and circled around. They released silvery wisps that coalesced into the translucent figure of a ghost.

"_HOW DARE YOU DEFILE MY NECKLACE WITH YOUR FILTHY, WORM-INFESTED FINGERS!"_ screamed the woman, who's jet-black hair and sharp face indicated her as some long-gone and long-dead member of the Black family. Teddy had to clamp his splitting ears with his hands in a feeble attempt to block out the piercing screeches, but he didn't see any of the Potters rushing into the room.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident!"

"_ACCIDENT? YOU PUNY INGRATE, DISTURBING MY HOME, MY LAST CONNECTION TO MY FAMILY. DO YOU WANT TO FEEL THE PAIN OF BEING WRENCHED FROM YOUR LOVED ONES, STUCK IN A TIME NO LONGER YOUR OWN, FOREVER PINING FOR THEIR TOUCH?_"

"No," he gritted out.

The cheeky response elicited a violent shriek from the ghoul, who raised her long, brittle hands to grasp at the collection of pearls, before casting them off in all different directions. Teddy felt his skin pulling away from his muscles as it followed one of the spheres, then his muscles, then his entire body, flying after the pearl, dragging him away from Grimmauld Place into a vortex of white and grey and swirling monochrome looping over and under and on and on…

Finally, his body was spat out, along with the pearl which flew further away from him and disappeared into the distance. Teddy groaned as his mind reeled from the cyclic transport, his cranium throbbing as if fifty Norwegian dragons were trying to burst their way out, and he grasped his sweaty forehead, which felt oddly airy.

"What just happened…?" He adjusted his eyes to his bright, torch-lit surroundings before whirling around to get the whole picture of the stone hallway, which was clearly one of the passageways in Hogwarts.

There were the sound of footsteps coming from the opposite end of the hallway, and Teddy whipped his head around. A tall, teenage Gryffindor was sauntering down the hallway towards where he had gotten up, and Teddy scrunched his face in confusion. _But it's summer vacation right now…_

As the figure walked closer, he gave a nonchalant nod to the blond. That was when Teddy finally recognized that obnoxious swagger he was told constantly of; the semi-long black hair turned limp with age in photographs; the mirthful features that old Order members reminisced about: that of a young Sirius Black.

He couldn't help but let out a surprised yelp of, "Sirius!" before instantly shutting his mouth. His head was beginning to pound again, spinning off-balance, as he realized where exactly that ghost sent him.

The other boy stopped and turned his head. "How do you know my name?"

"You're famous," Teddy instantly rolled out, desperate to appear calm.

"Well of course I am," Sirius replied, chuckling. Then frowned. "Though I don't remember ever seeing you in the castle, and I'm sure I know all of the ghosts in here."

"Ghost?" Teddy snapped his head downward, and his eyes widened like saucers at the sight of his now very un-corporeal body hovering above the floor, slate-ish and translucent. When he moved his hand to touch the wall behind him, it slipped through with ease. "I…roam the countryside, and this castle seemed like an appropriate place to rest."

"Ghosts rest?" inquired Sirius, but his mouth returned to a more neutral line. "Well it was nice meeting you…"

"Theo. Theo Elvendork."

"—Theo. But I have to get going now. People to see, girls to snog."

"Wait!" Teddy shouted, arms outstretched, fingers towards his godfather's godfather who looked at him quizzically. A silver orb seemed to glint faintly on the left side of Sirius' robe, but disappeared with a flicker of a nearby torchlight. "I—"

"There you are Sirius! We were going to put Chocolate Frogs into your knickers if you made us wait for you again."

Both of them turned their heads to the sound of newcomers in the hall. With a swish in his robes, James Potter walked towards Sirius, followed by two other students.

"Sorry mate, just making friends with a new ghoulie."

The shortest boy piped up, "What ghoul?"

"Seriously Peter, you can't be as daft as that. Right next to me, here." Sirius pointed a finger at Teddy.

James' eyebrows shot up. "Sorry, I'm with Peter on this one. There's nobody there."

"What—" Sirius whipped his face to Teddy's before back to James'. "Is this your bad idea of a joke 'cause I was taking my time again?"

"Seems more like you're the one that's joking," came a voice from the last of the students. "There's nobody there." He stepped forward, and Teddy made a choking noise. Three yards away from where he was floating, separated by air and a waxed stone floor, stood Remus J. Lupin.

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><p>Comments and critiques are thoroughly appreciated!<p>

He won't visit only the Marauders, but I love them too much so they're first.


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